Who are you wearing?” Have you ever watched an awards show and heard that question repeated to every passing celeb on the red carpet? It is meant to be a sort of pre show advertisement for designers and it works. Sales spike in the wake of these televised fashion parades as many believe the wordly ideal that ensures us the right outfit will buy us a better life, after all, the star looks amazing and happy…right?…

“and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Monday evening Women’s Ministries hosted a Table Talk Event* focusing on Titus 2 as, “…a call for us to live differently, do relationships with others differently and speak and act differently because of God’s grace that saves us and instructs us to live in a new way” (Marcia Lichte). This multi-generational gathering focused on God’s transforming grace and the yearning to live in a way that is pleasing to Him and, “The realization that [our] daily relationship with God is based on the infinite merit of Christ instead of on [our] own performance…” (Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace).

The Gospel provides the gravity (Christ’s blood) that pulls us to our knees at the cross where we can mercifully cling; grounded, changed. The unifying force of the Holy Spirit creates an accordance with the Lord that transcends and overrides any propensity towards divisiveness as we are drawn to other believers (Ephesians 4:3). Knowing God gives us a desire deep inside to love one another as Christ first loved us, sincerely and deeply from the heart (1 John 4:19, 1 Peter 1:22). Christ’s presence binds us into an intergenerational body enabling accessible, familial relationships, mentorships, and friendships to grow.

Titus 2 outlines the mutual benefit and blessing derived from life together where we support, serve, encourage, and learn from each other bound by the mercy and grace of our Lord (Titus 3:5-7). It is through these examples that we reflect the light of Christ as “God’s people not good people” providing an opportunity for those who do not know Him to see the unique way our shared joy in His presence unites us in community (1 Peter 2:12) and reflects His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).

“Spirit filled, multi-generational unity is a powerful witness to God’s work in our churches” (Daniel Renstrom, Multi-Generational Worship). As foreigners and exiles living in the world let’s endeavor to present a genuine closeness that defies logic outside of the unifying work of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 2:11-12, Titus 2:12)!

*For those of you who were unable to attend the above mentioned event, click here for the evening’s Bible study: Titus 2 Study Handout.

Multi-Generational Worship by Daniel Renstrom

This is pure speculation, but it seems to me that when the modern worship movement came into town, churches became more and more age segregated. There is probably a doctoral student somewhere in America working on this topic right now, so I’ll wait for that book to come out to tell me more about it. But as a general observation, I do not remember churches in my youth having such radical age divides as they do now…

“These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” –1 Peter 1:7

What does authentic Christianity mean? The following definition from Sharon Hodde Miller offers a starting point,

“First, authenticity is a discipline that requires time. It cannot be flipped on like a light switch, and it is not maintained without work…second…it can only be had in Christ.”

Miller posits the idea that authenticity is rooted in Christ.

“God opens our eyes to our sins, to the self-deception, to the things in our lives that are not of him. Then he transforms us, conforming us to the only perfect human being who ever lived. In Christ, we stop operating according to the constraints of social expectations, personal insecurities, and lies. Rather than live in ways that are subhuman, we finally live in a manner worthy of God’s vision for humanity.”

Irenaeus (an early Church apologist and theologian) noted, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and to be alive consists in beholding God.” Christian authenticity is expressed when the, “…divine life of God living in our soul…” (Pastor Burris) produces fundamental changes.

“There are no real personalities apart from God. Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self. Sameness is to be found most among the most ‘natural’ men, not among those who surrender to Christ. How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been; how gloriously different are the saints.

But there must be a real giving up of the self. You must throw it away ‘blindly’ so to speak. Christ will indeed give you a real personality; but you must not go to Him for the sake of that. As long as your own personality is what you are bothering about you are not going to Him at all. The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether.” –C.S. Lewis

We are made new and know God when we have the nature of God indwelling that accompanies believing the truth. We desire to live in fellowship with others who share this phenomena. We seek to magnify His presence through the honing of spiritual disciplines (Bible intake, meditation, fasting, prayer, and worship). Our focus and desires change and this is exuded in a real way as we seek to glorify God and share this Good News with others.

The following excerpt outlines 5 points related to authenticity:

(1) Authenticity proclaims the reality of the Bible.

In Numbers 13, God commands Moses to send 12 spies into the land of Canaan. Forty days later, they come back with fruit and a report.

Ten of the men tell it like they see it: fortified cities, strong people, and a fear of being squashed like bugs. Two of the men tell it like God sees it: “Let us go up at once and take possession for we are well able to overcome it.”

If the spies came to our churches today, which group of men would be praised as “authentic”?

Being authentic means that God and his Word define what is real.

Last Sunday, I had an imperfect experience of corporate worship. The kids were squirmy, the sanctuary was hot, and my mind wandered. That’s the truth.

But the Scripture adds an even greater truth to my experience. God, the Creator, declares that worship is good. Therefore, by faith, I declare it good too.

Whatever we say about our experiences, our report must also reflect God’s truth.

(2) Authenticity doesn’t excuse sin.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s phenomenally popular Eat, Pray, Love was the memoir of a woman seeking an authentic life. Its first page bears the motto: “Tell the truth, tell the truth, tell the truth.”

But for Gilbert, living authentically includes adultery, hedonism, blasphemy, and so on.

Gilbert’s type of authenticity is easy for Christians to reject. Her sins are “obvious.” But are we on guard against more subtle sins?

Recently, in “The Double-Reach of Self-Righteousness,” Tullian Tchividjian cautioned a generation of Christians who say, “That’s right, I know I don’t have it all together and you think you do; I’m know I’m not good and you think you are. That makes me better than you.'” Pride is not authentic.

Selfishness, love of men’s praise, lack of joy can all lurk, undetected, around our authentic edges.

I have a friend who wants me to be authentic. She wants to know about my arguments with my husband, the sin of my children, and what I dislike about church. For her, authenticity seems to involve not only removing my own mask but exposing the sins of others, too. This is unkind. Everything that is done in the name of authenticity must also be done in the name of a holy Christ.

(3) Authenticity seeks the good of the Body.

In 1969, Hillary Rodham (now Clinton) gave a speech at Wellesley’s commencement. Her remarks champion authentic conversation about women’s struggles in a male-dominated world.

I have to admire her kind of authenticity, for she was promoting authenticity for the sake of a common cause. She wanted these women to be authentic so that all women could have a better life.

Christian authenticity is likewise other-focused.

We live transparently, not to unload our own burdens and thus walk more lightly alone, but to intentionally share the burdens of others and carry them to the same grace that liberated us.

(4) Authenticity honors wisdom.

Christians seeking to be authentic rightly value humility. We recognize that we are broken.

But sometimes, in our quest to avoid the appearance of pride, we question our God-given ability to shine the light of wisdom.

Singer-songwriter Christa Wells expresses this in a song: “So friends don’t take me wrong on those days when I sound too sure / Of the things I say.” Wells writes insightful meditations on the Christian life, but she is intentionally tentative.

This habit has a long root in the spirit of the postmodern age, in which all truth is elusive and dogmatism is the unforgiveable sin.

But the godly life is not merely a pooling of experiences; it is the confident application of God’s truth to individual circumstances. We have the Greater-Than-Solomon, who gives wisdom liberally to all who ask. We honor the Giver by using his valuable gift. Seeking wisdom and speaking wisdom must have a place in an authentic life.

(5) Authenticity points ahead to a perfected future.

Every pilgrimage has a final destination. Christians who are authentic about the struggles of this life should also be authentic about the perfection of the next.

In Lewis’s The Great Divorce, travelers from hell step off a bus onto heaven’s grass. It is so razor-sharp, so real, that it cuts their tender feet: “The men were as they had always been … it was the light, the grass, the trees that were different; made of some different substance, so much solider than things in our country that men were ghosts by comparison.” (p 21)

For Christians, our true self is found in Christ, and we are on a pilgrimage to become more like him. As 1 John 3:2 says: “We are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet appeared.” A greater reality awaits.

So, like Israelites singing the Psalms of Ascent, we ought to look up from our dusty feet and ahead to the even more authentic glories of Zion and her King.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” –Matthew 5:6

Are your desires for the Lord and His kingdom strong or are you walking with one foot in the world, easily pleased by other things?

“We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” –C.S. Lewis

Keeping It Real: The Truth about Authenticity

Do we Christians even understand what the buzzword means?

I was standing in the kitchen, talking to my husband, when he began to yawn. As most wives would, I teased him for his insensitivity. He replied, “I’m just being authentic.” In case you haven’t noticed, the “authentic” label is not just for antiquities or ethnic restaurants anymore. One Thousand Gifts author Ann Voskamp recently posted on her blog: “I have felt it—how no one wants anything of anyone but to be honest and real and to trust enough to take off the mask.”

I have felt it, too. I am neither 20-something nor the least bit trendy. Still, authenticity has worked its way into my conservative evangelical life, making a regular appearance in my conversations with fellow Christians. Chances are you know someone who’s blogging or talking about being authentic: authentic life, authentic relationships, authentic community, authentic worship.

Christianity Today’s website designates “Authenticity” as one topic to classify its articles. Amazon.com sells more than 100 books under the search term “authentic Christian.”

Authentic is one of those slippery, know-it-when-you-see-it buzzwords. When I queried Andy Crouch, CT editor at large and author of Culture Making, about the word’s origins, he pointed me author Keith Miller. “His 1984 book The Taste of New Wine was a best-selling Christian distillation of both 1970s encounter groups and AA-style spirituality. I’m pretty sure his work was the catalyst by which authenticity became a specifically Christian aspiration.”

So authenticity is transparency and admission of failure. It’s the rejection of pretense and hypocrisy. It’s truth-telling about all areas of life.

I believe Christians can do authenticity best. We serve a God who is always truthful. Never lies. Never deceives. Has, in fact, defeated the Father of Lies. But I fear that without biblical thought, we may accept an inferior and postmodern version of tell-all, tolerate-all authenticity.

“There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” –Proverbs 12:18 (ESV)

Have you ever blurted out something and before your sentence was completed realized you should have said nothing instead? It is as difficult to recall words better left unspoken as it is to un-ring a bell once the clapper has clanged dissonantly. The following article explores the link between our heart and our tongue recognizing a heart in need of change is the most likely culprit for the lack of internal editor (Matthew 15:18). There are times when ugly thoughts surface verbally to audibly remind us of the need for the ongoing sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

“There is such a supernatural work created in believers by the Holy Spirit which always abides in them. This work of the Holy Spirit inclines the mind, will and heart to deeds of holiness and thus makes us fit to live to God. This work also gives power to the soul enabling it to live to God in all holy obedience. This work differs specifically from all other habits, intellectual or moral, that we may achieve by our own efforts, or by spiritual gifts that we might be given” (John Owen, “The Holy Spirit”).

Verbal Backspacing: It’s Not A Filter Issue

Last week while standing around with some friends, I carelessly commented on something I should have kept my mouth shut about. I criticized someone’s work without knowing it was actually the work of one of my friends. One who was standing right there. Of course I immediately felt like a first-class jerk. In hindsight, my words were idle, self-exalting, and proud, but what initially struck me about the situation was not my sin. It was how foolish I felt knowing I could have prevented the faux pas. Blame it on that faulty brain-to-mouth filter.

I fell all over myself apologizing. I tried to backtrack. I tried to put the comment in a less-offensive context. Ultimately, I tried to prove I really wasn’t such an insensitive and rude friend. All the while, I continued to dig a deeper and deeper hole for myself.

It’s easier to blame biting criticism or flat out rudeness on slow thinking or tiredness, than it is to take personal responsibility for accidentally exposing how you really feel – whether or not it’s socially appropriate. Let’s just call it an editorial problem, one we meant to delete and instead let fly. That’s the beauty of writing, if I type out something obviously foolish, offensive, or bad, I can backspace a few times and it’s like it never happened. But with my mouth, there is no backspacing. My words have “gone to print” so-to-say, too late to retract. If only there were such a thing as verbal backspacing, a delete button for the words I regret publicizing.

Thursday October 17:

2:00 PM Parking lot prayer send-off

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” –John 15:8

These are the 2013 October team members: Mark Engstrom, Terry Lichte, Felipe Lopez, and Doug Keller. Doug has been to India twice before. Felipe, Mark and Terry have never been to India.

TACC’s earlier trips have been predominately for evangelical purposes–sharing the gospel with the Adivasi through medical camps, children’s programs, and door-to-door visits. Our October team will be doing a medical camp one day, but the rest of our time will be spent in discipleship in some of the villages we have already visited for evangelism. TACC teams have visited 42 of the 79 villages we are trying to reach. Of those 42 villages, 25 now have local fellowships of believers.

Our plan for this upcoming trip is to…
…visit 2 of those existing fellowships for worship and then to do discipleship training in the afternoon
…have believers from several villages meet with us a one centrally located village for a day of discipleship
…a day of discipleship with women from nearby villages
…meet with the SAS pastor/evangelists and lay leaders from their churches for discipleship focused on leading their flocks and developing future leaders
…a ‘Big Gathering” of believers from multiple villages for a day of discipleship and fellowship
…the day of medical camp evangelism already mentioned above.

“If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” –1 Peter 4:14-16

mar·tyr

/ˈmärtər/

Noun

A person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs.

The etymology or origin of the word martyr is interesting. The old English martyr, from Late Latin martyr, from Doric Greek martyr, literally translates as “witness.” In that context it seems especially appropriate considering the number of early Christians persecuted for witnessing –sharing the Gospel.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? –Matthew 16:24-26

“Every believer in the true God MUST be a potential martyr” –Pastor Burris

“Haven’t we all prayed the following prayer? Lord, we pray for safety as we travel. We ask that no one gets hurt on this trip. Please keep everyone safe until we return, and bring us back safely. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. The exact wording may vary a bit, but that is the standard prayer we recite before leaving on mission trips, retreats, vacations, and business trips.

We are consumed by safety. Obsessed with it, actually. Now, I’m not saying it is wrong to pray for God’s protection, but I am questioning how we’ve made safety our highest priority. We’ve elevated safety to the neglect of whatever God’s best is, whatever would bring God the most glory, or whatever would accomplish His purposes in our lives and in the world.”

An ebenezer was a remembrance to mark God’s presence; His help, guidance, faithfulness and grace. We are probably not outdoors building stone remembrances but there are practical spiritual disciplines we can employ to remind us of His blessings and keep ourselves spiritually minded during the dry seasons.

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1

Hearing, reading, and studying God’s Word, meditating, memorizing, and applying scripture, enables us to refocus on God’s deep love for us when we are thirsting for Him.

Praying through scripture alone, out loud and with others helps strengthen and grow our faith.

Journaling helps us to get deeper into God’s Word and provides a broader understanding of how God has worked in our lives as we reflect.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Lean on the Lord during these arid times tuning your heart to Him and growing in trust.

Ebenezers for a Parched Soul (Excerpt)

Growing up in the church, I understood an ebenezer to be a marker set up to remember something that God has done in the past. The word is only mentioned briefly in Scripture. In I Samuel 7, Samuel raises a monument and calls it Ebenezer, which seems to mean a “stone of help.” It has come to mean, at least in some Christian circles, something set up as a reminder of God’s character or provision for His children.

I don’t plan to erect stone monuments to the Lord as Samuel did, but I do take note of the ways God has provided for me and what He has revealed to me of His character at different points in my life. I write them down. I journal them.

Some days, I am dry and thirsty, and I feel I can barely open my Bible in my discouragement, let alone tackle some new passage I’m supposed to be studying. On those days (which sometimes last for long seasons), ebenezers are a gift from God. He gave us great wisdom when He gave us the instruction, “Remember!”

If you are in a hard season, it’s easy to forget or diminish what God has done for you in the past. “If God really worked for me in the past, why am I having such struggles now?! Shouldn’t it be getting better?” But that has never been the nature of this journey of faith. Never, ever in Scripture is it portrayed as a steady positive climb. It’s portrayed as mountains and valleys, raging rivers and dry deserts. He leads us by still waters where we can drink deeply. But it is in preparation for walking through the valley of the shadow of death. His instruction to REMEMBER is key for surviving the drought and enduring through the valleys.

If you are struggling right now in such a season, I offer the simple suggestion that you go find some ebenezer from your own life. Engage with the reminders of how God has worked for you in the past. I believe you will find water for your thirsty soul that equips you to endure for the future.

Psalm 77 11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

The next time you find yourself leaning this way and that searching for the newest crinkles, wrinkles, or lines; seek instead the glory of God and the image of Christ.

From “The Key to My Book”:

“How beautiful are the arms, which have embraced Christ-the eyes which have gazed upon Christ, the lips which have spoken with Christ, the feet which have followed Christ.

How beautiful are the hands which have worked the works of Christ, the feet which are treading in His footsteps have gone about doing good, the lips which have spread abroad His Name, the lives which have been counted for Him.” Christina Rossetti

In His presence when we are a life poured out for Him (Philippians 2:17) we become a reflection of “the light of the world” (John 8:12) and that is beautiful.

I Am a Vain Woman

One evening I spent time online looking at pictures of the growing number of women in the public eye who have had botox injections or who are enduring all kinds of surgical procedures, attempting to look younger. Feeling quite disgusted with the whole mentality, I called my husband over to look at some of the pictures with me: one image after another of actresses, comedians, fitness experts, and wives of famous actors.

“How can they do that?” I asked, “It doesn’t look natural, and it doesn’t really look that good! Most of them have very little expression, and they look swollen!” As I sat there looking at the photos, I judged them! In my heart I labeled them as

prideful,

full of themselves,

women who don’t want to look their age,

women who go to great extremes to look good.

God, grieved by my sinful and judgmental attitude, violently grabbed the corner of a veil and ripped it away exposing my heart. As clear as day, I could see the very characteristics that I had attributed to those women. I saw that my heart is full of pride, that I am full of myself, that I am a woman who does not want to look her age, and that I will go to extremes to look good. Indeed, I am no different than these women.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:10-11.

When you think of generosity does God’s astounding unfathomable grace fill your heart and mind? When you are giving to others do you do so authentically and lovingly in order to better reflect Christ? It is possible to be generous in the absence of love (1 Corinthians 13:3) but that giving does not reflect God’s ineffable love for us when He gave us His son and the hope of eternal life (John 3:16).

“Faith connects you so intimately with Christ, that He and you become as it were one person,” Martin Luther. Reflect this oneness (Galatians 2:20) by generously giving your time, money, or talent to meet the needs of others; those in the church and those in the community (Corinthians 9:7-15).

Reflecting Christ in Summertime (Excerpt)

by Nicole Whitacre

Here are a few summer time activity ideas from the Apostle Paul:

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven,” the Savior instructed in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:16).

When people see our good works: “They will ask, ‘What is it? Why are these people so different in every way…?” writes Martyn Lloyd-Jones. “And they will be driven to the only real explanation which is that we are the people of God, children of God…We have become reflectors of Christ.”

Scripture emphasizes the importance of good works for all Christians and for women in particular in 1 Peter 3:6, Titus 2:3–5, 1 Timothy 5:9–10, and in Proverbs 31:31. This last passage ends with the exclamation, “let her works praise her in the gates.”

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Welcome!

The purpose of this blog is to provide helpful resources and support to the women of Taft Avenue Community Church. Our ultimate goal is to encourage women in Christ by connecting them with God and each other so they will grow in their faith. This will enable them to reach out with the gospel and with God's love to other women in the church and in the community.

Foundational Scripture

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."- Titus 2:3-5 ESV

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